Hail-Mary Vote (Understanding those mysterious Catholics)

The Catholic vote is a bit like an apparition of the Virgin Mary. It is a clear article of faith to some, a murky delusion to others. ...

Admittedly they are a mysterious lot, a group that is neither monolithic nor partisan. At present 49 percent of Catholics are Democrats while 40 percent are registered Republicans. A portion of these voters are known to swing wildly in presidential elections. This year they represent a third of voters in do or die battleground states like Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, and Pennsylvania. On the whole Catholic voters are offended by injustice, have a reflexive concern for the poor, and are committed to protecting life in varying degrees. Despite their diversity, there are cultural characteristics of Catholic voters that for whatever reason have been largely ignored or underappreciated by the two major political parties. Here are a few that I have observed in my travels and during conversations with Catholics across the country:

The Madonna Complex: The veneration of the Virgin Mary in Catholic practice has uniquely prepared the Catholic people, men and women, to warmly accept female leadership. Not just any leader mind you, but a leader who is at once nurturing and firm: a mother. This is one of the reasons Hillary Clinton trounced Obama 59 percent to 41 percent among Catholic voters in the Pennsylvania primary. It is also why Sarah Palin has caused such a sensation among Catholic woman, even self-described Democratic women. She represents an underground feminism that has long existed but is seldom celebrated. When I recently asked a bi-partisan group of Catholic women in California if they felt that Sarah Palin was like them, I was loudly corrected. “She IS us,” they said.

Thanks, and I hope I don’t bore you when I post my editor’s letter to the secular newspapers which names NAMES:

“Dear Editor:

When Senator Barack Obama was state senator in Illinois, he voted at least 4 times against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act which protects babies born alive from unsuccessful abortions. Barack Obama would allow these babies to die alone in a room without comfort or medical attention, rather than help save their lives. The Constitution gives these babies human rights at birth, but Barack Obama would remove these Constitutional rights.

Barack Obama is even more extreme than Senators Hillary Clinton or Barbara Boxer, who did not object to a similar federal law to protect born-alive babies.

Senator John McCain has had a good pro-life voting record, except for embryonic stem cell research, but I am happy to say, when I visited his website, saw that he reversed his position on that. Not only is embryonic stem cell research unethical, but not one person has ever been helped with embryonic stem cells, but there are numerous treatments from the ethical nonembryonic stem cells which have helped so many people. Senator McCain does, however, support nonembryonic stem cell research.

Senator McCain’s running mate, Governor Sarah Palin is pro-life and walks the walk by choosing life for her own special-needs baby.

It absolutely does matter whom we elect for president reagrding the life issue, because the president picks the judicial nominees, and other examples are when a previous pro-”choice” president vetoed the ban on partial-birth infanticide, and overturned the Mexico City policy, which denied U.S. tax dollars from going to organizations that perform or promote abortion in foreign countries.

On Election Day I will be pulling the lever for McCain/Palin because I am a 45 million+ “issues” voter. You see, over 45 million unborn babies have been killed since Roe v. Wade.”

LMSM won’t tell people how extreme Obama is, so it’s up to us grassroots folks, and talk radio. However, I heard around 80% of people don’t listen to talk radio (but they do read letters to the editor).

"It boggles my mind that a Catholic could identify with the proponents of abortion, the one social issue that is nonnegotiable as far as the Church is concerned."

The problem is this: Some dioceses and parishes still refuse to accept, let alone READ (and distribute) the Church's pronouncement on contraception and abortion, consequently, many people in those dioceses have scarcely-formed consciences regarding these LIFE issues. If you have a bishop or a priest who still says that it's up to YOU if you wish to contracept, the chances are pretty good that he is also pro-abortion, at least to a partial extent.

What?!? Your little discussion group is dead wrong, pun intended.

Inform them about the Mexico City Policy, which Bush on his first day in office reinstated after Clinton discontinued it, and about FOCA which Obama says signing into law will be his “first act as president” and will effectively roll back every single gain for life of the past 30 years.

Those 2 Life Issues ALONE are enough reason to vote Republican, and are evidence that Republicans not only advance the prolife cause in general, but save actual innocent lives.

My Mom the same, grew up in a Democrat family when it was an honorable party, thinks it’s the party of the little people and all that. Keep in mind these older folks spent their childhood with FDR as president, who in their eyes saved the world from Hitler and Hirohito.

However, after six months of gently persuading her of the changes in the party, and sending her numerous excerpts of FR articles, she is now an ardent McCain supporter, although still a registered Dem.

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